Monday, May 7, 2012

The time I won $8

The week before last, I returned to Vegas with 8 other girls to celebrate the end of Katy’s singledom. She’s getting married in three two weeks! Vegas was crazy, as expected, and I think Katy had an amazing time.

Friday3:40am - Woke up, pushed GO on the coffee maker.

My genius idea (if I do say so myself), move the coffee maker next to my sink so it can brew as I get ready.

4:05am- Left the house to pick up Jaime at her house. Jaime and I were on the same flights to/from LV. We had debated asking Chris to drive us to the airport, but after discussing exactly how early we’d have to leave, we thought it’d be a lot nicer of us to drive ourselves.5:15am - I realized I left my phone in the car. Shoot. I had texted Jaime when I arrived at her house but I failed to put my phone in my bag. I considering running back to the car to get it, but I probably wouldn’t make it back to the airport in time. I considered asking one of my friends who was joining us in Vegas to use a spare car key to get my phone and then bring it to me on their flight. However, I don’t have a spare car key. So, I decided I probably wasn’t going to be alone at any time during this trip and I should probably just tough it out and live in the 1990s.
---fly to Phoenix---

---change planes, fly to Vegas---9am - arrive in Vegas. Woohoo, we made it! It was about 65 degrees, sunny, and time to hit the pool! Katy’s sister (the MOH) had reserved us two rooms at the Signature at the MGM. It’s off the strip, but has access to all of the MGM’s pools. Jaime and I spent several hours soaking up some rays while we waited for the other girls to arrive and for our room to be ready.

Once our stomachs started yelling at us, we had lunch at Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill at the MGM Grand. Jaime and I had a tough time meeting up with the other girls, but thankfully, she and I are friends, so we shared a delicious pizza and two glasses of red sangria. I’m not sure if it was the sun, the drinks, or the hunger, but this meal was seriously incredible.

After lunch we went back to the pool and saved chairs for the rest of the girls. We learned the hard way that poolside drinks are expensive ($17/one cocktail) so I had made plastic cups for everybody to bring down. Our whipped-cream flavored vodka/Diet 7 Up drinks were deliciously refreshing.

Weirdly, the pool closed at 5pm. Jaime and I wanted to check into our room, so we went back to the Signature to move our bags into our proper room, shower, and grab the 9th gal, Natalie. The timing was perfect and we saw Natalie arrive just as we were checking out the view from our 4th floor balcony.

Before dinner, Friday night.

That night, we walked over to the Cosmopolitan to find a place to eat dinner. Without a reservation, dinner for 8 can be hard to arrange. Only 8 girls, you ask? Ha, Ericka didn't exactly make it to dinner. She had too much fun at the pool all day. Vegas can be tiring!

We ended up having dinner at a cute Italian place, DOCG. Jaime and I continued our romantic weekend, and split the Arancini (fried risotto balls) and arugula salad.

That night, Courtney had reserved us bottle service at a totally-hip club, Tryst, at the Wynn. She knew somebody who worked there, so we only had to pay $20/each. At first I thought that was too much, however she really hooked us up. We got our own table, tons of drinks, and the best chocolate cake of my life. And, a surprise to us all, Ericka joined us before the night was over!

I lasted until around 3:30am (5:30am Austin-time)

Saturday
Once everybody was awake, Ericka, Jaime, and I went to brunch at the infamous, Hash House a Go Go. We had about 40 minutes to wait, so Jaime and I hit up the penny slots to get some mimosas. Jaime borrowed $4 from me and ended up winning about $13 for herself. I spent $1 on the slots and $1 on my drink and came back with $8! And an amazing mimosa! And our meal was incredible!

Gigantic portions

After our meal (I HIGHLY recommend this place) we went to the pool to meet up with everybody else.

After a few hours in the sun, Ericka, Natalie, and I went inside the MGM to play some more penny slots. Also, I really wanted a pina colada. Natalie was up $20 but refused to cash out (uuugh!). We left empty-handed, but not empty-bellied!

Seriously, so good.

Saturday night we all had dinner at Battista’s. The Dailey’s (regulars to Vegas) recommended this Hole in the Wall for our dinner. A very affordable option with a lot of character, Battista’s worked our really well for the 9 of us.

That night we also had an hour-long limo ride, and tickets to Thunder from Down Under. The limo was cool although not really necessary for transport. And the show? Well... personally, it wasn't really my thing, but I know Katy had a great time. If you're into man-butt, then you might want to check it out. But if you're into talented theatrics, I might recommend Blue Man group or a Cirque Show instead.

Sunday
Jaime and I left the hotel at 7:30am and made it back to Austin around 6pm. Veeery long day, but definitely worth it for the two days prior.

After being home for about two weeks, I've had enough time to rest and I'm already anticipating the next weekend out there. Vegas is one of the weirdest cities ever, and exists for the sole purpose for people to have a good time. I'd say, we did that.